Suggested

Top of the rocks

words by Hazel Lubbock

Unlike its neighbour, the United Arab Emirates,
Oman has remained a wonderfully authentic state
little-known to mass tourism. In place of gaudy high-rise blocks
are mobile desert camps, boutique beach resorts and fabulous palace
hotels.

Opening late next year, Alila Jabal Akhdar will
be the first Middle Eastern outpost from the design-savvy,
Asia-based hotel group Alila. Appealing to travellers looking for
seclusion and intimacy, the hotel is set atop a sheer cliff, far
from any development (a sure hit with honeymooners, then) a
two-hour drive from Muscat.

As with its stylish sisters in India and Indonesia, there will
be an emphasis on design, with a touch of glamour. The 86 rooms,
suites and villas will be created to resemble typical, flat-roofed
Omani houses, built to blend in with the landscape as much as
possible. There will also be a restaurant, spa, and a kidney-shaped
pool that faces the Al Hajar mountains.